For the generation of an EUV radiation by means of a discharge plasma, it is known (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,541,604; 6,815,900) to vaporize a suitable emitter material, e.g., tin, in a vacuum chamber by means of a focused, pulsed, high-energy radiation (vaporization beam), e.g., laser radiation, between two electrodes in a vaporization location and to convert the emitter material into a discharge plasma by means of a pulsed electric discharge between the electrodes. The volume in which the discharge plasma is generated and from which EUV radiation is emitted is the source location.
For many applications of EUV radiation, e.g., for microlithography, a consistent quality of the supplied EUV radiation is highly important.
In this connection, even slight changes in the position of the source location between the individual EUV beam pulses can have a very negative effect on the quality of the EUV applications.